the diary of an immortal child
by WillowM
Summary: this is about sirius, a nineteen year old girl, who belongs to ancient magical family who are considered to be legendary for the battles that they've participated in. there are so many secrets. will sirius discover them and the answers to all of them?
1. Chapter 1

january fifteenth, 3021

dear journal,

today i learned how to make my first potion. it is one that is used for healing small cuts and bruises. it was kind of hard to do at first but i think i did it right. my mentor told me that tomorrow we need to get more supplies for my classes.

my second class will be tomorrow morning. she told me that she would try to start me off with something a little more simple than a potion. she wants to start getting me used to meditating without me creating my own protected space. once she knows i have the jist of meditation she'll teach me how to create my own protected space. that'll be saved for another class though.

my mentor has four other students besides me.. all of us are girls and we are all around the same age I think. there's this one girl who looks at me differently than she does at anyone else. it kinda gives me the creeps but i don't let it get to me.. i don't really know the other girls' names yet.. i don't really talk to anyone except the mentor. i guess it'll take some getting used to. i mean i was almost always shy. it's hard for me to speak up about anything.

our mentor says i just need a friend who won't push me away and who'll try to understand where i'm coming from but i don't think i'll find anyone like that here. my entire life is about my classes. i have no family. i have no friends. why would i try making friends with the only people i know especially since one of them really freaks me out? i don't know. i don't really care either. but I have to wrap up for right now. dinner is being served soon and then chores. then i have to study some of the papers and books that my mentor gave me today. she said that, depending on how i do on the placement test she's giving us on friday she might be able to break out the really old books of ancient witchcraft. they date back to before christ ever was conceived in god's mind.

sirius.

LATER THAT NIGHT:

dear journal,

after i ate some of the dinner that the other girls made, and after i did my chore, which was washing the stove and counters, i cracked open one of the books that keri (that's our mentor's name) gave me. inside, on the first page, was a diagram of the pentagram and the name of each point, with each name having it's own explanation. i turned the page to see another diagram, this one was of a human body and each of their energy points in the body. These were basic things to know about. i jotted down a few notes before i heard a knock at the door.

i pushed my chair back from the small desk that i had been given to work on. when i opened the door

my heart started pounding. it was the girl who constantly kept staring at me during class.

"can i come in?" she asked softly, her voice smooth and kind.

i opened the door wider and she walked in to sit on the chair i had been sitting in before she came to my room.

"i'm sorry that everyone has been picking on you. i don't like it. it makes me feel like knocking their heads together to see if that knocks any sense into them. but if i did that keri would have me outta here before i could make a potion," the girl said in a calm, soft voice as she watched me cross my legs under me on the bed.

"well it's not really fair that they judge me because of my name," i said quietly.

"NO it's not!. they give keri the excuse ' but it's a boy's name! she's a girl! she should have a girls name!'" the girl continued after i was done speaking.

"does anyone even know the reason why i have that name?" i asked with raised eyebrows at the passion and protectiveness in the other girl's voice.

"i can bet they don't. i don't think anyone knows anything about you except for the fact that you have a really unique name."

"thanks. you ever heard of the star called sirius?" i asked.

"yes. it's known as the dog star, right?" the girl asked.

"yeah, that one. well because i was born with many things that are different from most people, my parents wanted to give me the name of a star. and because these differences are unique, and I mean one-of-a-kind-can't-find-another-person-with-these-same-or-even-similar-differences type unique, they gave me the name of the most unique star," i explained the story to the only person who showed that she acknowledged my existance in the least.

"wow. that's really cool. but what do you mean about the differences?" the girl asked.

"what's your name?" i asked, putting off the conversation about the many reasons behind my name.

"faith," she replied, questions in her eyes.

"look into my eyes and tell me what you see faith," i said as i moved to stand in front of the girl.

she looked me in the eyes and gasped when she realized what i was talking about.

"your eyes… their pupils are not round… they're stars… and they glow like stars…" faith kept staring into my eyes as if she were falling into them slowly.

i nodded before i spoke again.

"that's not the only difference. look at my back and tell me what you see," i said as i pulled my shirt up so that she could look at my long, thin back.

"i see a very intricate tattoo. but i see… are you glowing?" she said, her eyes widening.

i nodded again and moved to sit on the bed again.

"i was born with the tattoo. and my parents believe that i may have been born with a star instead of a heart. look at my arms and legs. tell me what you see," i said again, as i pulled my sleeves up and my pantlegs.

she gasped again as she watched little glowing lines, where veins usually were, pulsate with the gases of the star that burned deep within my body. she touched my leg and her hands felt soft and cool on my skin. i felt a slight tingle run through my spine and it kinda surprised me. i had never felt this way before so i let it go at that point, not realizing that it would soon spill into something a little more intense than a tingle running down my spine.

faith noticed my reaction to her touch and raised an eyebrow.

"have you ever been with a girl before?" she asked.

"no... have you?" i responded, looking deep into those violet eyes and seeing a spark of interest rising into flames deep within them.

"uhh, no, unless you count your dreams," she replied with a smirk.

"do you think you're..." the words drifted off into nothing.

i didn't want to invade her personal feelings, thoughts, space, or anything like that..

"i don't know. i've wanted to try it but i never found a girl who'd do something like that. plus most couldn't handle a bad ass for a girlfriend," she replied, still smirking.

the flames that had lit up in her eyes started dancing hypnotically, and i became entranced. i couldn't pull my gaze from her and she didn't try to look away either so it didn't help. we sat there for a long time in silence, just staring into each others eyes, reading each others feelings through them. finally faith stood and stepped towards me. she bent down towards my face and our lips met for a brief moment. though it was short it was sweet and electrifying at the same time.

it left me dumbfounded for a few seconds. just as faith was about to walk out the door i grabbed her wrist. she turned back to me. i shoved all of my fears away in that moment and pulled her into me.

she stared up into my eyes before i bent my head enough to have my lips brush lightly against hers.

what i didn't know was how turned on she was getting from me holding her so close to my body, so when she moaned quietly i raised an eyebrow.

"sorry... i'm just so fucking horny right now it's hard to control it."

a small smile was hidden away by her full lips on mine. i felt her losing herself in my arms, wanting me. i had never thought that i would ever be wanted by anyone for any reason. it felt good. i slowly walked backwards towards my bed, still holding faith as i went. we fell onto the bed, me on the bed itself and faith holding herself over me, both of us breathing heavily. she stared into my eyes, looking for something. evidentally she found what she was looking for because next thing i knew she was slowly kissing down my cheekbone. she continued down over my collarbone as she slipped her hand under my shirt and bra. she began massaging my breast as her other hand slipped down my leg to pull my knee-length skirt up so that she could pull off my panties. when she did she swooped down on my face and we shared another very intense kiss as she threw the panties over her shoulder.

they hit the wall and fell to the floor. my brain was a little slow at registering what was going on because the last i knew it was almost midnight. i was always a little slower than usual this late. when it hit me though i let go of all my gaurds and shields that i always had up and started my hands up faiths shirt. i ran my hand down her back lightly as my other hand went for the latch on her bra. when it was unhooked faith looked at me with raised eyebrows and whispered softly,

"natural much."

i shrugged as she undid the buttons on my skirt. one of my hands slipped to the front of her to cup her breast while my other slipped to the button on the back of her mini skirt. when the button popped open i unzipped the skirt so that it slipped down her hips and thighs easily. i threw the skirt to the side and pulled her thong off. soon after i slowly felt my way down over abs and down in between her thighs. by this time faith had already stripped me of my skirt and was teasing me by rubbing my clit lightly with her fingers. i moaned quietly in her ear as she slipped a finger inside of me. i felt myself pour slowly over her hand. she smiled before she bent down to kiss me again, her tongue flitting over my partially parted lips.

i slowly rubbed her clit as she pulled my shirt off with her free hand. her mouth then moved to my shoulder as i started unbuttoning her shirt with my free hand. i felt her start to bite and lick and suck at my shoulder and i felt an electric shock go through my entire body. i bit my lip to prevent myself from being too loud. finally i was pushed over the edge and i entered her.

she was beyond slick inside so it was easy to fit two fingers comfortably without hurting her.

she almost collapsed on top of me from a head rush that flowed through her as i entered her. she rested her head on my shoulder for a minute as she held back her orgasm and suppressed a scream. i reached inside of her, pushed her to the edge, and she let out a low moan of pleasure. she drove further into me with her fingers that finally i couldn't hold it any longer. i had an orgasm that made it feel like i was about to explode from coming so much.

and because of this i made sure that not long after faith had her back arched as she moaned a little louder than she meant to. we stopped for a minute and listened. when we heard nothing i drove even further into her until she orgasmed with a shudder before she collapsed on top of me. i wrapped my arms around her and felt her breathing become more steady and even. before i fell asleep i pulled out my pack of cigarettes and grabbed my lighter from the nightstand. i lit one up and and looked down at her.

"i didn't know you smoked. if i had known that i would've brought my pack so i wouldn't have to bum one from you after that," faith said as she looked up at the cigarette that was hanging on my lip.

i pulled out another one and gave it to her. we sat there in silence as we smoked our cigarettes. when we were done i put mine out in the ashtray that i kept on my nightstand and then handed it to faith. after she put her's out and i put it back on the nightstand i slipped back down and she laid on top of me. before long i felt her breathing become steady and even again.

january sixteenth, 3021

dear journal,

soon faith was asleep in my arms and i let my eyes close slowly. when we woke up in the morning i looked down at her and she looked up at me, her head just under my chin. she kissed my chin and i pulled her up a little closer so that i could reach her lips. they were as sweet as the were last night.. i looked at the clock that sat on the night stand next to the bed.

"shit," i swore as i slowly started to sit up.

"fuck." faith noticed the time and i quickly ran to the bathroom to grab something for faith to put on so she could at least make it to her room to get clothes.

i turned to get my stuff for a shower when i heard her say,

"wait for me. please."

i nodded and gathered my clothes for class as well as my robes and my shower kit. i plopped it down on the bed and waited patiently for faith to return.

while i waited i pulled a cigarette and lit it up. i finished my cigarette just as faith walked in with her's almost gone. we put them out and i grabbed my stuff and pulled faith into the bathroom with me. i started the water and let it heat up as i got everything ready for when i was done.

"faith?" i said as i waited for the water to get hot.

"mmmm?" she replied as she placed her stuff next to mine.

as i watched thought about how right her things looked next to her own.

"what happened last night... does that make us... a couple?" i continued my question.

"do you want it to?" faith replied as she turned to me.

i took off my bathrobe and stepped into the shower. i let the hot water beat down on me for a bit as i thought about faith's response to my question. i didn't know what i wanted. all i knew is that it felt good. and that it felt right to be there with her.

"kinda," i finally said as she stepped into the shower with me.

she smiled as she wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my shoulder. we stood there like that for a bit before i let go of her and began washing up. she stopped me before i got very far. she did something i didn't expect and started washing my body for me. her gentle touch sent chills through me. when she finished, she smiled at the look on my face. that's when i took the body wash i had and i washed her. when we were both rinsed off completely i turned off the water and stepped out. i took her hand and helped her out as well. we stood on the towel, dripping wet, and just stared deep into each others soul.

i grabbed a towel from the rack and dried her off first. as i dried myself off i watched her get dressed. today she was wearing a black and red, plaid mini skirt and a black button down shirt. she brushed her long dark auburn hair and pulled it back into a tight ponytail. she turned to the other clothes that she had brought with her when she saw that i had finished drying off. she tossed me a pair of black bell-bottoms with a nice white button down shirt made of silk. i put them on and she smiled.

"you are so hot! i knew when i laid eyes on you that i liked you," she said as she had me turn.

when my back was to her she grabbed my ass and i squeaked. i spun around quickly and grabbed her, pulling her in for a long, passionate kiss.

"you never said good morning!" i replied when she looked up at me.

she smiled and kissed me again quickly before turning to the mirror to brush her teeth. i watched her as i brushed my bright red hair back into a ponytail. when she saw me finish she moved over so that i could get access to the sink. as i brushed my teeth my eyes were on faith, watching her as she put on eyeliner and black lipstick. when she was done she turned to me and smiled.

"would you ever wear make-up?" she asked as she looked over me.

she and i were quiet as she thought about what she said.

"i take that back. i wouldn't want you to wear it. your face looks perfect without it," she said instead of letting me answer.

i smiled and we walked out of the bathroom together. i grabbed my bag and started shoving my stuff for class into it. i put my robes on quickly before i threw my bag over my shoulder. i followed faith out of my room. before we left i locked the door. we walked down the hall to faith's room. she unlocked the door and flipped on the light. she stepped aside to let me enter. when i did i looked around at everything. she had one wall that had shelves lined with potion vials. they were all full.

"wow," i said as i looked carefully at one of the vials.

"that one is to heal the wounded soul. it's for if someone is so far gone in their misery and they can't pull themselves out of it," she said as she went around the room, grabbing her things for class.

"does it work?" i asked.

"yes."

"who made all of these?"

"me."

"really? how do you know how to make potions so well?"

"it's the simple fact that my parents mass-produced potions. but all of them were made by hand. and by hand i mean my hand," faith said as she looked up from what she was doing.

"is that why you can make them so quickly in class?"

she nodded and i smiled at her. she was an amazingly wonderful person and i kept learning things about her that continued to get more interesting as time went on. when she was done grabbing things from around the room she threw her robes on and we walked out of the room. she locked the door quickly before we headed downstairs. i looked at my watch and shook my head. we wouldn't have time for breakfast unless we were late for class. and if that happened we would end up having a consequence of washing all of the cauldrons in the back room. and there were at least forty.

so we walked quickly to the meditation room to see keri setting up mats for each of us.

"hi keri. can i talk to you real quick?" faith said as we entered the room.

"sure faith," keri replied as she placed the mat she had in her arms on the floor.

"keri, i was wondering if you could teach me how to do a double meditation?" faith asked.

"hmmmm. that's some advanced stuff you're talking about faith. who did you have in mind?" keri replied as she looked over faith's shoulder at me.

"well, sirius is a pretty levelheaded person," faith offered.

keri smiled before she answered.

"how about this, i give you your placement tests today, while everyone else does meditation. you'll have to go to another room and no peeking at each others work. but i have to make an announcement before class goes into session. i will let you guy's know what i think about you two doing advanced magic next period," keri said.

"thank you," faith said as she gave keri a quick squeeze.

just then everyone else started to file in. when everyone was seated keri moved to the front of the room.

"i have a few announcements to make before class begins," keri said as she waited for the chattering to die out.

when it did she continued.

"the first announcement will be that we are moving from this house into something much bigger," keri said.

everyone looked at each other and whispering started up between all of us.

"did you see this coming?" faith asked me.

i shook my head and she whispered,

"neither did i and i have a pretty good grasp of how to control that power."

i raised my eyebrow and she mouthed,

*i'll tell you later.*

i nodded and someone raised their hand. keri nodded at the girl.

"why are we moving?" the girl said in a high pitched voice.

"we have more students applying here every day. there are over two hundred girls who want to learn about our heritage and how to use it appropriately. that brings me to the second announcement i have," keri explained.

all went quiet as we all waited for our mentor to continue.

"we will be hiring new teachers just before we move to the new school. each of the classes will be taken over by a new teacher except for meditation and one-on-one time."

we sat in silence and waited for her to continue.

"third, there will be grade levels and separate classes. you will have to share a dorm with at least one other girl. i know it's a lot of changing to do in a short period of time but there are so many girls out there who can't find someone to teach them because other schools are to far away or some too close for comfort.. some can't pay twenty million dollars to get the training they need. we are going to be moving in five months at the earliest and eight months at the latest. any questions?" keri asked as she looked around the room.

when everyone shook their heads she sighed before she continued.

"the final announcement is that faith and sirius will not be joining us for meditation. they will be in another room taking their placement test."

when she finished she set everyone else up on a mat before she turned to us. she had us follow her to another smaller classroom. she went to the teacher's desk in the front of the room and grabbed two boxes, each with a packet resting on top.

"these are the things allowed to be used during the test.. everything having to do with the test is in there. yes faith, there are extras in case of an accident," keri said as she read faith's mind.

faith and i took the boxes. keri told us where she wanted us to sit. i sat at one end of the classroom while faith sat at the other. we began as soon as she told us she'd be back in half an hour to check on us.

i pulled different items out of the box and looked at the packet. my name was already on the top of the test. this was how my packet looked by the time i was finished:

sirius hawethenks

1. what do each of the points on a pentagram represent? earth, air, fire, water and spirit.

2. for how many years has magic been in existance? it is dateless because know one knows exactly how old the earth really is and magic dates back to even before the earth existed.

3. name at least a lord and a lady or two lords or two ladies from the greek, roman, and celtic beliefs and label each set with which culture they came from. brigid and epona are two celtic goddesses. apollo and artemis are twin brother and sister from the greek culture.. jupiter and pluto are two gods from the roman culture..

4. name at least four of the chakras and explain which part of the body in which they are located. the crown which is the top of the head, the third eye which is in the middle of the forehead, the throat, and the heart.

5. name all of the ingredients in the vials provided and then label the vials themselves. (the ingredients were dragons blood, holly, willow, crushed bay leaves, lavender petals and chamomile.)

6. now i want you to create a potion out of the ingredients that you labeled. remember to write down how you made it on a piece of paper and what it's purpose would be. (my potion was intended to strengthen psychic abilities while countering negative energy around the person who uses it.)

7. magic is created through the use of the will of the heart and mind. but there are some exceptions to this rule. what are four of these exceptions and how do they fall under these special circumstances? telekenesis is used through the will of the mind. levitation is also used through the will of the mind. and so are psychic abilities and self-copy.

next thing i knew keri was walking into the room, announcing that lunch would be ready in fifteen minutes and that she would be collecting the tests now. faith and i grabbed our bags and left the room to go to the dining room. just as we left the room faith took my hand in hers. we dropped each others hand when we reached the dining room though. we sat together at one end of the table while the other three girls sat at the other end, staring at us as they whispered about us.

finally faith had had enough and stood up.

"you better watch what you say about her," she said through her gritted teeth.

"or what? are you gonna throw a potion at me faith?" the girl, who had evidentally been talking about me, said in a high-pitched voice.

"i challenge you," faith finally said, her face turning red with anger.

as faith got angrier i actually saw flames start to lick her hair.

"uh faith... your hair's in flames," i said from behind her.

"i know. it does that when i'm pissed," faith replied without taking her eyes off of the girl.

i saw a ball of flames form in the palm of faith's hand as she grew ever more pissed.

"you can't challenge me! we aren't allowed to duel. i'll tell keri if you throw that!" the girl shrieked as she stared at faith's hand, wide-eyed.

just then, keri stepped out from behind the wall.

"well, jessica. aren't you going to accept faith's challenge? because i could have you expelled for being very rude to your peers. this'll be your way out of that.," keri blew up jessica's spot right then.

jessica went pale and nodded and then looked at faith and said,

"don't think you'll win this."

then she stomped out of the dining room with the other two girls behind her.

"i'll let her know that the duel shall be before dusk tonight. we will go over the rules just before you guys start the duel," keri said just before she turned and walked back out of the dining room.

"have you ever been in a duel before?" i asked as i watched faith cool down.

she shook her head before she bursted out laughing.

"no but i have a plan," she said in between her gasps for breath.

i smiled and helped her out of her chair. as we walked down the hall keri pulled us aside and said,

"first off, i'd like to congratulate the both of you on passing the test with a's. second, i'd like to know where faith learned how to makes such a potion?"

"my parents mass-produced potions for a living. i was the one who made them all by hand. up until the last fifty or so, when the factory blew up with my parents in it," faith explained quietly.

"oh. i'm so sorry. and sirius, how do you know that self-copy exists?" keri said.

"well, the power runs in my family?" i replied.

"what?! you belong to that family line?! self-copy was found in only one family that everyone thought had ended centuries ago!" keri exclaimed in shock.

faith turned to me with raised eyebrows.

"self-copy is an ancient technique that was used during the wars of light and dark back just after the earth had been created. this family was the second to exist on earth. they belonged to the dark side of things. the woman had a child who, when he grew up used the self-copy for good.

his parents had him exiled to another country. he was banned from ever going back to his home country in england. in ireland he met a woman whom he took for his bride. and the power was passed on for hundreds of years. the strangest thing about the family is that each generation only had one child who obtained the power. meaning never did any of the kids ever have a sibling," keri explained as she eyed me.

"it's true.. i do not have any brother's or sisters and everyone in my family has been dead for years. my parents died when i was only four," i said in response to keri's lecture on my family history.

faith just stood there and stared at me. i looked at the floor. i hadn't expected to spill my entire family history onto the floor so soon and i was kinda ashamed of it.

"i'm willing to teach the both of you more advanced magic but only if you think you can handle it," keri said.

faith and i nodded and keri walked away, leaving faith and i alone in the hall. faith put her hand gently under my chin and lifted it so that she could look me in the eye. all i saw there was love. i had expected her to be upset about the fact that i kept my history a secret.

"i understand. it's a lot of pressure to grow up knowing that you're a legendary witch," she said as she read my thoughts like a book.

i smiled at her. i should have known that she'd be understanding and not angry.

"why should i be angry? i'm dating a girl who's a descendant of a legendary family line! i think it's cool to have such an amazing history," she said as she continued to read my thoughts.

she took my hand and we walked to our next class, not letting go even after we walked through the door. we sat at a table together and pulled out our notebooks for spell casting. the class went by quickly and soon enough faith was dragging me to her bedroom to prepare for the duel. she pulled out a bunch of ingredients for a potion. after the potion was almost completed and she was leaving it to set she turned to me. as she did so i pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.

"she asked if i would throw a potion at her so that's exactly what my final move will be. i will make the antidote after this one is done setting. it should be done after we eat dinner, which should be being served in the next ten minutes," she said.

she watched me for a minute before deciding she wanted a cigarette as well. she pulled her pack out of one of the drawers and took out a cigarette. she lit it up and continued to watch her creation set.

"what's the potion going to do?" i asked curiously.

"you have to swear you'll tell no-one," faith said as she stared at me hard.

"i swear on the honor of james hawethenks that i will not tell a soul," i vowed.

"who's james hawethenks?" faith asked,before she took another drag off of her cigarette, just as curious as i was about the potion.

"remember the son who turned on his family who supported the dark magic? that's his name," i explained.

"wow. that's a pretty big vow. okay. it's supposed to act basically like battery acid except worse.. instead of just burning her and giving her burns it'll actually start to eat away at her skin like termites eating through wood," faith explained.

"and there's an antidote for it?" i inquired.

"yes. technically it's almost like a hallucination. or it'll seem like it after she's had the antidote. but this potion here will really eat her skin and if i don't get the antidote on the areas that were hit with it before fifteen minute pass she would end up a skeleton," faith explained.

"don't you think that's kinda dangerous?" i asked nervously.

"dueling in general is dangerous. why not make it fun in the process?" faith replied nonchalantly.

"if you say so," i replied with a shrug.

we squashed our butts before we walked out to go to dinner after we locked up. we hurried back upstairs after we ate and completed our chores. faith dipped a vial into the cauldron, using a pair of tongs to do so. when she pulled out the full vial she put it,, cap-less on the table.

"wanna see how this shit works?" she asked excitedly.

"sure," i said.

she pulled out a piece of steel and placed it on the table. she then pulled out an eye dropper and squeezed some of the potion in to it. she wore gloves the entire time she handled the stuff. she turned and placed a solitary drop on the piece of metal and we watched as the potion ate through it easily. my eyes widened at the piece of metal which now had a hole going through the center of it that was the size of the tip of my thumb.

"wow," i breathed quietly.

"i know. i made this one up myself when i was fifteen," faith explained.

i nodded and continued to stare down at the piece of metal as faith capped the vial. she turned and started pulling out the ingredients for the antidote when keri knocked at the door.

she stepped inside and looked at us.

"i was thinking about how i had said we would have to move and you girls would have to share rooms. you two wouldn't mind bunking together, would you?" she asked.

"no. we wouldn't mind at all," faith said as she winked at me.

"well then with that settled i should advise you two of two things: start packing your things. it turns out we found the next place sooner than we expected and i'd rather get you guys over there first before anyone else because i know you two can handle being in a big old castle by yourselves. the second thing is that if you're gonna be doing anything during the night try to keep it down. as much as i am pleased that you enjoy each others company to that extent i still don't want to hear it through the walls when i'm trying to sleep," keri said.

faith and i looked at each other with wide eyes before we started giggling. keri smiled and then said,

"the duel will take place in an hour and a half so i hope you're ready by then faith. i just hope your antidote works as quickly as your decidic potion."

i looked quickly at faith as she gaped at keri.

"we'll go over the rules in about an hour," keri continued, ignoring faith's look of awe.

faith nodded and continued preparing the antidote. keri left soon after. it was unbelievable.

soon enough it was time to go to the court yard to hear the rules, set up by keri, of the duel.

"there are only two rules: no tag teaming your opponent. you are allowed any attacks until your opponent concedes defeat," keri stated in an official tone of voice.

we all stood in a circle around keri and then she moved to the center of the courtyard with faith and jessica.

"now this is a one hundred pace duel. you are to walk one hundred steps each away from each other. when i say draw you may begin your duel," keri announced.

faith and jessica stood back to back for a moment before starting their paces. the instant they each reached one hundred keri shouted,

"draw!"

and the wands were whipped out. with my nerves going bizerk i pulled out another cigarette and lit it up as i watched my girlfriend and the girl who constantly picked on me prepare themselves for a very big, very real fight.

faith sent a stun spell flying at jessica and jessica blocked it. then jessica sent an itching spell at faith and faith jumped out of the way. this attack pissed her off and i saw the flames start to lick at her hair again. jessica sent a dozen vines after faith and they wrapped themselves around her. this really pushed faith over the edge. she singed the vines with her flaming body as she formed a large ball of flame in the palm of her hand.

"you've only managed to master one element jessica. you've forgotten how much experience i have with the elements!" faith shouted as she hurled the ball of flames at lightning speed at jessica.

immediately after faith had thrown the flames an earthquake rumbled, sending a fizure down right between jessica's feet.. faith looked at me and smiled wickedly. my jaw dropped. she had caused the earthquake. i looked up then just in time to see blackish purple clouds rolling in overhead. i heard a crack of lightning as it hit the ground in front of jessica. and through all of it jessica remained calm. i watched as jessica kept evading and blocking faith's attacks. i felt like it was going to be a draw when it hit me. tag-team means two different people, i thought as i continued watching the battle. my mind reverted back to the ancient technique of self-copy. faith saw the images in my head. i heard her say *do you trust me with this power?*

i looked at her. *i can't just let you take it. i'd have to take something even more important in return. it's a rule.* she heard my thoughts and replied with her own: *i will give you my heart and myself in two years time. i will marry you if you want that. will that be enough of a trade.?* i didn't answer. my ancestors answered for me. i watched as faith bordered the entire courtyard. i had forgotten that the technique wasn't limited to just one copy. you had unlimited copies. it all depended on how much energy you had stored up before hand because it's your energy that pushes the speed at which the cells in a person's body will duplicate.

the original faith passed the vial from hand to hand as everyone stared at her. she laughed as jessica slowly tried to back away from her but couldn't because she was on all sides. finally a copy of faith tossed the potion at jessica and she let out a scream as her face instantly started peeling and melting away.

"i give up!" she shrieked as she fell to her knees in front of the whole class.

faith snapped back into one person and walked over to jessica and dropped the antidote in front of her. as she turned to walk towards me she said,

"there's the antidote. now don't fuck with me again or else i won't make the antidote."

jessica grabbed the vial and ran for the house. i ran to faith and she grabbed me in a huge hug.

"very well done," a voice said from the shadows.

a man stepped out from under a tree and walked over to where i stood.

"you used our technique very well faith. remarkable that someone from outside the family could have mastered it so quickly. although, after the promise you made sirius just before you received our gift, you might as well be part of the family," the man continued thoughtfully.

"who are you?" faith asked as she looked from me to the man and back.

"why, i am james hawethenks. well to be more precise i am the spirit of james hawethenks. i was brought here by your doing. you made a promise to my descendant, sirius, and i need to make sure you uphold your promise. if in two years you two are not married when i return you will not like the outcome of it," james said.

"what would the out come be?" faith asked boldly.

"for one thing we would send our ghostly after you assassins to slice your eyes, as pretty as they may be, so that you will be blind. we will stab your ear-drumbs so that you may be deaf. and you shall be all alone. and you will live forever. you would never die. and you would suffer these consequences for all of eternity," james warned.

"okay," faith said solemnly.

in an instant james was gone.

faith and i walked back to the house, holding hands as we thought about what had just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

january seventeenth, 3021

dear journal,

that night faith slept in my room again because she wanted to help me start packing for the big move. we still didn't know where the new school would be but we decided not to ask, seeing as how keri was already running around like a chicken with its head cut off as it is. we didn't want her to be stressed out any more than she needed to be.. she was already interviewing new students and teachers. one of the teachers was supposed to take over immediately after faith and i moved because she would have to go soon after we left to start getting things set up at the new school. that night i dreamed of what the castle would be like.

when i woke up the next morning i found a box next to my pillow. i sat up and stretched. faith was nowhere to be found within my room so i grabbed the box and sat with it in my lap. i pulled out the infamous pack of cigarettes and performed my little ritual of having my first cigarette of the day. as i worked th box open i noticed inside the box were those packaging styrofoam balls. i dug through them and found another smaller box that i flipped open. my jaw dropped. it was a white gold ring with an amethyst set into it. i sat with it in my hands for a long moment before faith walked in with a tray of food.

"i see you've found the box. it's only an promise ring. i won't be proposing for a little while at least. i think it'd be way too soon," faith said with a small smile as she placed the food in front of me.

my eyes started to water and i grabbed faith around the neck, while she was bent over me to put the food down, and hugged her. she kissed my neck softly. i moved the tray and pulled her down gently on top of me. i held her for a long while as i smoked. i thanked the lord and lady that it was a non-ritual holiday. she sat up and grabbed the box, which had been put on the night stand to prevent it from getting lost. she opened it and pulled the ring out. she took my hand in hers and slipped the ring on my left ring finger. then she kissed my hand softly.

when our eyes met she smiled. i put the butt out before she lunged at my face and showered it with kisses.

*horny much?* i thought as i chuckled out loud.

"maybe," faith replied out loud.

i laughed and pulled her down to me. i held my hand on her face as i stared into those violently bright violet eyes. i yanked her shirt off as she slowly pulled my pajama pants off. just as the shirt slipped off her head she went down on me. i had to grab the mattress to prevent myself from clawing her back until it bled. and because of it i ended up making myself bleed because i had to seriously bite my lower lip in order to suppress a scream. when faith came up to look at me she smiled just as she slipped two fingers inside of me. the head rushes kept coming, running through my entire body. i couldn't help but moan. it was loud but still quieter than what i really felt. i pulled her pants off and threw them at the wall. they fell to the floor as i felt my way down into her wetness. i started just by teasing her. i rubbed her clit for a long while before i heard her whisper in my ear,

"more."

i shook my head and continued rubbing her clit, watching as she refrained from collapsing on top of me while i did.

"why do you like to torture me so much?" she whispered softly. seductively.

"because i like when you beg. i like when you ask for more. it lets me know i'm doing well," i whispered back.

"more," she said just before she came.

she still didn't collapse though. she kept going and so did i. by the time she did collapse she had come at least ten times and i really didn't want to know how many times i did. the sheets were soaked though so that gave me a clue. faith laid down on top of me, her head on my breast while her hair was off to the side, covering my arm and shoulder. i sighed with contentment and closed my eyes. when i woke again faith was still laying on top of me but she was looking at me, watching me as i slept. i smiled down at her and she pushed herself up towards my face so that she could give me my wake up kiss.

"we need to start packing soon. i think keri is going to be getting the plane tickets within a week or so," faith said as she moved to her side of the bed.

i nodded and pushed myself into a sitting position. i stretched out before i took out another cigarette. i pulled out a second one for faith and she took it. we lit them and sat in silence as we smoked. when we finished i put the butt out and stretched again before i stood. when i got up i walked to my closet and grabbed a clean towel and clothes.

"oh come on sirius. don't revert to your plain old self please?" faith said as she watched me pull out a pair of plain blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt.

i looked over my shoulder at her as she waved her hand towards the clothes in my hand. the jeans turned into black, boot-cut, bell-bottom jeans and the t-shirt turned into a white tank-top. i smiled and shook my head in amazement. i still couldn't believe how quickly faith could do things. when i had gotten my clothes she got up and grabbed a black dress from her side of the closet.

i stepped up to the bureau and pulled out one of my thongs, a white, lace bra and a pair of socks, which i stacked on top of the jeans and tank-top. i walked into the bathroom and put my clothes on one of the shelves near the shower. i hung my towel on the rack and reached into the shower and turned the knob. i stripped while i waited for the water to heat up. just as i pulled my shirt off faith came in. she placed her clothes on the shelf below mine before she, too, started taking her clothes off. we stepped into the tub, me holding faith's hand as i helped her up and over the high edge of the tub and started getting ourselves ready to wash up. again we helped wash each other off.

faith was the first out and when i stepped out i helped her dry off. when i finished drying her she helped me dry off. we got dressed, working around each other as we moved to certain spots of the bathroom as we got ready for the day. when we came out of the bathroom faith went directly to the closet. she pulled out a laundry bag which she threw our dirty clothes into. i moved to the desk and started pulling papers and pens out of the drawers. i piled them neatly on top of the desk and faith passed a suitcase over to me. i opened it and started stacking the stuff from the desk into it.

faith pulled out another suitcase and started pulling clothes out of the closet and folding them so that she could put them into the suitcase. just as i finished filling the bag with the work from the desk there was a knock at the door. i opened it and keri was standing there.

"here are the plane tickets for you two," she said as she held up the tickets for me to take.

i held out my hand and she placed them in it.

"don't lose these. it's bad enough that i have to pay $20,000 a month for the next five years to pay off the castle we are moving into. we don't need to pay another thousand dollars for another plane ticket because you lost yours," keri said.

i nodded and keri turned and walked away. i put the tickets on the desk and grabbed another bag. i started pulling books off of the bookcase and put them in the bag. i zipped the bag shut when i couldn't fit anymore books in it without bending them. so i grabbed another bag and continued to fill it up. soon the entire bookcase was cleared. i moved to the bathroom and started putting things into a duffle bag. by four in the afternoon we were completely packed. faith and i went and searched around the house for keri as we watched the girls walk around the house aimlessly. when we found keri she was sitting at her desk in the study, going over paperwork.

she looked up as we knocked on the door.

"come in you guys," she said.

we stepped inside the large office and stood there for a moment before faith spoke up.

"we finished packing," she said after about two minutes of silence.

"already? well then, i guess you guy's will be the first to see the new school. i'll take you to the airport in an hour so that you can take tonight's flight," keri replied in an exhausted tone.

"how are we supposed to get to the castle if we have no idea where it is?" faith asked nervously.

"actually, i beg to differ. you have way more than a clue as to where you're going. you have a tour guide standing right beside you," keri answered as she looked at me carefully.

"me? how the hell am i supposed to know where we're going?" i replied in nervous shock.

"you'll know when you land," keri replied quietly as she smiled.

faith and i looked at each other and we shrugged. i had no idea what made keri think i would know where we were going when i didn't even know what country we were going to. i heard keri's thoughts just then.

*you'll know. just trust me.*

i nodded and turned and left the office with faith not far behind. we went back to the room and, as we grabbed our bags to get them out to the car, i puzzled over what keri had said. *you'll know. just trust me*. *how the hell am i supposed to know where we were going?* i thought to myself.

when we had gotten all of our luggage into the car faith and i stayed outside to watch the sunset. we sat under a large tree in the backyard as we watched the skies turn red, purple, orange, and dark blue. i kept toiling over where we could possibly be going that i would know about. when the sun had sunk behind the trees keri came out of the house.

"are you ready?" she asked.

i stood and helped faith to her feet. we walked over to the car and climbed in the back seat. keri got in the driver's seat and started up the car. fifteen minutes later we were at the airport in boston. as we waited for the plane to arrive i continued to think about things. keri had left us at the airport so we had to pay attention to what they were announcing over the intercom. when our flight was announced faith and i walked over to the terminal and handed the person our tickets. keri had gotten us first class tickets. we were shocked to find this out. we boarded our plane and waited for take off. just as the plane lifted off the ground it hit me, and hard. *we're going to ireland!* i thought excitedly.

keri had been right. i knew exactly where we had to go. we were going to be living and learning while in james hawethenks' castle. he had built it just before he married the irish girl. they moved into the castle together. now faith and i would be there, alone.

"i call master suite," i whispered to myself.

"what?" faith heard what i said and looked at me with a questioning look.

i smiled at her and said,

"we are living in james' castle," i explained.

"james'... hawethenks? you mean... oh my..."

i nodded excitedly as i watched faith comprehend what was happening.

"wow," she said finally.

"keri had ordered us a vehicle to get us there because it's quite a ways from the airport," i explained.

faith sat there, stunned, as she listened. the rest of our ride was quiet. we both slept most of the time. when we landed i was bouncing in my seat. the pilot finally announced that we were landing just outside of the border between the northern and southern part of ireland. we got off the plane and went inside to grab our belongings. when we got outside, into the parking lot we found a gentleman waiting beside a mini cooper.

"you must be sirius hawethenks? welcome to ireland," he said as he opened the trunk of the car for us.

he took our luggage and stacked it neatly in the back. i thanked and payed him well for his kindness while faith climbed into the car. after i had payed the gentleman i climbed into the driver's seat and looked around for the keys. faith opened the glove compartment and pulled out a set of keys. there were three keys on the keyring. she handed them to me and i started up the car. i headed north towards the country's capital. just outside of northern dublin was a extremely large castle that sat on top of a hill. *this is it* i thought excitedly as i continued towards the castle.

it took us about two hours to get from the airport to the road that lead up to the great and ancient castle. when we pulled up faith's jaw visibly dropped open. i smiled, proud of my heritage, and drove over the draw bridge. we parked out in the front of the castle and got out to stretch. after we had gotten our legs to start working a young woman came out of the castle to greet us.

"you must be lady hawethenks. we've been expecting you. if you'd like you can pull around back. there's a garage out there. i'll go get riley to help bring your bags in. i assume that you'll be taking your ancestor's bedroom?" she said kindly.

i nodded with a smile. i got back into the tiny car and pulled around back to find a huge garage the size of keri's house back in the states. my eyes bulged as i pulled into the giant space. just as i was getting out a young man came in through a side door and bowed to me.

"you must be lady hawethenks. my name is riley and i'll be one of your personal servants. would you like help with your bags?" he asked.

i nodded and thanked him as he took four bags. i took four more and followed him into the castle. inside was amazing. the architecture was beyond anything i had ever imagined. i kept looking everywhere as i walked behind riley. faith had been shown in and was standing in the foyer, waiting for me. she took some of the bags i had and riley waited while i ran back to the garage to grab the last three bags. the three of us carted the bags to a mini elevator that would bring the luggage up to the fourth floor, where the master suite was. we walked slowly up the stairs, paying attention to every statue and painting that we saw. as it turns out, three quarters of the paintings were done by james' son. the furniture, which was unique all in itself was made by james himself. the statues were done by his wife. all of the paintings were oil paintings of irish landscapes and the castle and the family as generations came and went. the statues were made of marble. lots of them were horses.

"james' wife was a big epona worshipper. not so much into dark aspect as she was into communicating with the dead. she was a very unique woman. she could sense spirits even when others couldn't," riley explained as he noticed me staring at a statue of the now familiar horse.

the furniture turned out to be made of willow and holly. they were very sturdy pieces too. we finally reached the door and riley set the bags down.

"there is a phone in the room so if you need anything just call. the numbers are right beside the phone. i am pretty sure you have the key. it's the more intricate one of the three on the keyring that was in the glove compartment," riley said before he turned and walked back downstairs.

i pulled out the keys and stuck the prettiest key in the lock and twisted it. i heard a click and the door swung open. i stepped inside to see a fireplace with a fire burning low on the hearth. there was a king sized canopy bed at the western side of the room. there were two doors in the room aside from the one we stood in. one lead into a rather large bathroom while the other went to the huge walk-in closet. i dragged some of the bags in and so did faith. i plopped down on the bed as i watched her pull the rest of the bags in. i flopped back and moaned.

"this bed is so comfortable!!! i totally wish we didn't have to give this up!!!" i said as i looked around while my head hung off the bed.

"what do you mean?" faith asked in response to my comment.

"well, we'll have to graduate eventually. and if we stay here after we've learned all that keri can teach us then we'll be taking up space that could be used for new students," i explained my thoughts to the one person who understood every thought i had.

"well you have very right to stay here, don't you? i mean you technically could look at your parents' wills and see if you inherited this, couldn't you?" faith asked curiously.

"yeah. i guess i could. but i have no idea if they'd have their wills on record here. before now i didn't even know this place existed, never mind that my ancestor's lived in it for hundreds of years," i replied.

faith nodded sympathetically as she began to unpack our belongings and putting them where they belonged. i sat up and thought for a minute before i walked over to the phone and dialed downstairs. riley picked up.

"yes miss hawethenks?" he said.

"i wanted to ask you a few questions in person. would you mind coming up and talking with me?" i said.

"i'll be up in a minute," riley responded obediently.

he hung up and within moments there was a knock at the door.

i opened the door and riley stood there, waiting for me to invite him in. i stepped aside and he stepped in.

"can you tell me if there would be any record of my parents' wills here?" i asked.

"of course there is. why maximillian was born on the third floor in the hospital wing. he actually died here as well. he had come to visit your mother's side of the family when he just dropped. your mother, as you know had been dead for almost a year at that point and your grandparents on her side had made it a point to have him come at least once a year to visit until you could go see them. but they've been gone to the otherworld for quite some time now," riley replied.

at the sound of hearing my father's name my heart started pounding.

"my father was born here?" i said in shock.

riley nodded and then said,

"you were a tiny thing last time i saw you."

"what? have you been to the states?" i said with a curious look spreading over my face.

"to the u.s.? no. i've dreamed of going there one day but i'm too poor to be able to afford to go," riley said.

at this my jaw dropped as my mind slowly put the pieces of this mysterious puzzle together.

"you mean to say..." i stammered.

"yes i do. you were only five pounds, eight ounces. and you were thirteen inches long," he replied.

my jaw dropped almost immediately after i had closed it.. i had been born here? i couldn't remember my parents ever mentioning that. although i could hardly remember my parents in general.

"do you think i could see a copy of my father's will and my birth certificate?" i asked after i had been silent for a minute.

riley nodded.

"thank you."

he left me standing in the middle of the room, my thoughts bouncing off the walls of the inside of my head. I went to sit on the bed when the phone rang. I picked it up and heard:

"ms. hawethenks? this is is riley. i've found your father's will and your birth certificates as well. would you like me to send them up?" riley asked.

"yes riley. thank you."

i hung up the receiver and went to the bed. just as i sat down i heard a clunking noise.. just then, I watched as a large yellow envelope plopped to the floor in front of the fire place after falling from a tile in the ceiling. i got up again and picked up the envelope. i broke open the seal and pulled out five pieces of paper. One was my father's will which i put to the side. the second paper was a copy of my birth certificate from ireland. i switched to the next piece and saw this one was from the states. i smiled as I thought about everyone back there. The third one was from england. The last one was from scotland? Then I remembered that my mother was half scottish. *wow. I never knew anybody who has this many birth certificates from so many different places.

I put them back into the envelope and picked up the will. I looked at my father's neat handwriting and smiled. faith came out of the bathroom at this point and came to sit beside me.

*what is it?* she wondered.

"it's my father's will. riley found it and sent it up through the wind pipes in the ceilings and walls," i explained out loud.

*i see.*

i slowly read over the paper.

*there's more paperwork… and there is something for me to find on the castle grounds. hmm… i wonder what he has in store for me?* I thought.

*do you wanna go find out?*

"hold on… he says that there is a map for the heir of james hawethenks to find in the dungeons. he says it's buried under a large pile of rubble in one of the cells. we should look for that first," i replied as i looked over the will one more time before slipping it back into the envelope with my four birth certificates.

faith helped me to my feet and we left the room. before we left the floor i locked our room. faith took my hand in hers and we walked down the stairs to the first floor. we looked around for one of the servants. when we finally found one, we found her dusting a coffee table in the parlor. she looked up when we walked in and smiled.

"could you tell us which way to the dungeons?" i asked.

"why on earth would you want to go down there? it's no place for a lady," was the response.

"because i want to see it. now please tell me how to get there or i'll just call riley," I threatened.

"oh all right. go towards the court yard in the center of the castle grounds. then continue to the farther side of the grounds. just before you start into the woods there should be a rock wall. in the wall of rocks there should be a heavy, metal door. if you go through the door you'll come to the stairs that lead to the dungeons," the maid said quickly.

i nodded my thanks and she curtsied. faith and i walked back out of the parlor and towards the courtyard. We continued out through the back portion of the castle grounds. we found the rock wall that the maid spoke of but no door. i put my hands on the rocks and followed my senses towards the left part of the wall. i had found the metal door. it was caked in dirt and sand. i brushed the door off. that's when I noticed the keyhole.

i pulled the set of keys that we had gotten in the car out of my pocket. there had been three keys when we had gotten them. now there was a fourth.

*hm. i never even took the keys out of my pocket… how could there be four keys now when we only had three to start with?* i thought to myself.

i grabbed the newest key and stuck it in the hole. i gave it a quick twist and i heard a click of the lock. i gently pushed the door open and stepped inside. cobwebs covered the entrance to the stairs and it was dark. It was like stepping into nothingness. faith formed a small ball of flames in the palm of her right hand and held it out in front of us. she took my hand in her left one and we started on our way down into the dark and dreary dungeons.

it felt like hours had passed by the time we reached the floor. as we walked down the hall we looked into each cell, shuttering every now and again as we spotted remnants of people who had been sent here for jail time. it gave me the creeps to know that people died in here. we continued walking until we found a cell that had a wall that had crumbled into a large pile of rubble. we pushed the cell door open and i let go of faith's hand. she held her lit hand out as she lit up the cell so that I could see.

i started pushing the rubble aside and found some loose stones in the floor. i pulled them out to find a box made of willow with celtic knots engraved all over it. i pulled the box out and carried it under my arm as we headed back up to the castle grounds. when we got back outside i plopped down on the ground and opened the box. inside was a scroll of paper. it was yellowed with time. i carefully unraveled it to find that it was a map of the castle grounds.

it seems that, according to the map, there were several passages inside and outside of the castle that no-one knew about except the descendants of james hawethenks. i looked carefully at the map and noticed that there was a passage that started out in the open on the roof, just outside of our bedroom window and went around and down. then when you'd reach the ground there'd be a short dirt path that would lead to a door that was put into a tree. when you'd open and step through that door you'd supposedly end up in a different dimension.

there was another passage that got my anttention. it started in the parlor and went down beneath the castle a couple of miles. it said that there was an item there that could only be used by the descendants of james hawethenks. i wanted to see what that one was first. i was growing more and more excited every minute as I learned more about my family history.

i rolled the paper back up and got to my feet.

"come on. i want to find this mystical secret family treasure," i said to faith as i walked to wards the castle.

faith nodded and followed me as we walked into the castle. we walked to the parlor and peeked in. no-one was in there so we quickly ran in and i looked for the movable wall panels. after about two minutes of feeling the walls i found a loose board. i pulled it out and then another. i pulled enough panels out for the entrance to be wide enough for a person to fit through comfortably. after we stepped inside faith lit up another ball of flames and i put the panels back into place. we walked down a narrow stone path for a long time before we came to a door.

i tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. letters started to appear on the door in another language that i recognised as gaelic. It was translated as:

'those of blood and love to the first hawethenks may pass if they may pass this test of wits, knowledge, and strength.'

*hmmm. james wants us to prove ourselves worthy of seeing this item.*

faith stood there quietly, waiting to hear what we had to do next. just as i was about to turn back i heard a loud rumbling noise. faith's head snapped up as we both looked around for what was making such a noise. that's when i saw a boulder the size of a small house rolling towards faith and i. and it was coming fast. i quickly shoved faith into an indent in the wall just as the boulder got dangerously close.

i put my hand up quickly and the boulder shoved into my hands. hard. i held my own as the boulder continued to move. but with me in the way it slowed down quite a bit. it continued shoving me backwards as i dug my feet into the ground. finally it stopped after shoving me back almost six hundred yards. i wiped my hands off and followed faith to the door.

a new sentence had appeared under the first, and, like the first it was in gaelic. the translation was:

'ye have past the first of many tests. pass through this door to accept the next challenge.'

faith and i looked at each other. her face read *we're doomed* all over it. mine was a *we'll get there no matter what happens.*

we passed through the door into another chamber. this had four blocks standing in the middle of the room. i looked at the next door. it said:

'those who take this challenge must carry the weight of responsibility on their shoulders. put some of the weight onto the marked floor panels to make your hearts light again.'

i looked over at faith and she shrugged. i went over to the blocks and tried to push it. that's when i noticed the ridges on two of four sides of each block. each of the marked floor panels had ridges on all four sides as well.

*damn it* i though as i looked around.

then a smile spread across my face. an idea came to me and i focus all of my energy on the one power that no-one else in the world except faith and i had. when she saw me doubling every cell in my body she looked at me curiously.

*what are you doing?* she thought.

*we can't push the blocks. we need to lift them. the nice thing about self copying is that not only does your body multiply but so doesn't your power. if there were, say sixteen of us instead of two we'd have more of a chance of moving these blocks because i can't even move them.*

*i get it!*

faith started focusing her energy as well and soon enough we had sixteen of us standing around the blocks. four groups went to four blocks. we all stood in a circle, holding hands so that we could share each others power and let it pass through us. we focused on the blocks and moving them to their correct markers. slowly the blocks lifted off the ground and moved over to the sides of the room they quickly shuffled themselves as they moved through each other. when they were floating above their appropriate markers we absorbed our copies and the blocks fell into place.

the door opened to the next chamber and i lead faith to it. when we reached the next room, we found that it was pitch dark. i saw the glowing words on the wall on the far side of the chamber. i walked carefully to the wall and interpreted the sentences.

'now is the test of wit and strength. you must survive the enemy and make it to safety with out the light of the good in your hearts. beware of the venom of the dark for it could consume you and in turn kill you.'

*and you still think we aren't doomed?*

i shook my head in determination as i listened carefully. faith was quiet as i moved around the dark chamber.

*what's wrong?* she thought.

*i don't know... i can feel something very close but i can't see it. i don't know what it is.*

that's when i heard a hiss. i closed my eyes and there he was: a giant serpent. it was about thirty feet long and about a foot in width. i gasped.

*what?* faith thought anxiously.

*whatever you do, don't move a muscle until i tell you to.*

*sirius? what's going on?* faith started to panic.

*just stay calm. please don't panic faith because he will not take a second to think before he strikes.* i thought quickly.

faith's thoughts stopped flowing as she stood there quietly as i moved quickly and quietly around the chamber. i jumped into the air and landed on a ledge.

*faith. move slowly and quietly towards me. you need to use another sense to find me because if i speak you'll get hurt.*

*okay.* she closed her eyes and covered her mouth when she spotted the giant snake looking straight at her.

she slowly backed away and he let out a low hiss. i started to work my way around the room on the ledge as faith moved away from the snake. i found a sharp rock that i threw at its head. he turned to look at me before he hissed. i ran towards where faith was and he lunged i jumped off the ledge before he could get to her and i shoved her out of the way. i pulled faith to her feet and pushed her towards where i had found the ledge. the snake was after me now so i ran in the opposite direction from faith. she stood there, watching as i ran around the chamber. the snake followed my every move and yet he never got knotted up.

when i reached faith i almost threw her onto the ledge and thought:

*move around the chamber. stay close to the wall and don't fall off. when you reach the other end let me know. i'll think of a plan while you work your way over there.*

faith nodded and did as she was told. i kept the snake preoccupied while she worked her way to the other end of the ledge. when she did she thought:

*now what do you want me to do?*

*look for a hole in the wall. feel the wall for footholds.*

i watched as she felt around while still keeping the snake from going after her.

*found two. now i'm guessing you want me to climb up and hope that i find another ledge, right?* she thought with a bitter laugh.

*yes. please just do it faith. i don't think we can turn back now.*

*alright. i'm going up. wish me luck.*

*good luck. and hey faith?*

*yeah?*

*i love you.*

there was a pause between my thought and hers.

*i love you too.*

my heart warmed as i continued to bounce around the room, avoiding being bitten all the while.

*okay i'm on the next ledge. now what?*

keep going until you find the door.*

*but what about you?*

*don't worry about me! just get yourself out of here!*

faith did as i said and got herself out of there. just as she left the chamber the snake bit me in the back of my neck, sinking his long venomous teeth down into my spine. i slowly sank to the ground and finally even with my eyes closed everything went dark.

next thing i knew i was in a bright white room. standing in front of me, his back to me, was james hawethenks. he was looking down into something as i stared at his back.

"come over here sirius," he said, not turning to look at me.

i walked over to where he stood and looked down. he was staring into a dark swirling pool of liquid. an image appeared as he continued to stare at it. it was faith. she was down on her knees. she held something in her arms. it was a person. i recognised the hair. it was mine! she was holding me!

i turned to james and asked,

"am i dead?!"

he nodded solemnly.

"not many can survive nightwalker. he is a menace created by the dark worshippers to torment us who worship the light. he was a pet given to me when i was a child. and because he only knows evil and because he only knows me as his master he ended up being a part of the many tests i had put in place to gaurd the treasure," james said softly.

"what am i going to do?! i can't just leave faith there! she'll die!" i said in a panic.

"you risked your life for the love of your life as i did so long ago. and you do not wish to go back to earth for complete personal gain but to continue to protect the one you love. so do you will this to happen?" james said.

"i want to go back. i need her and she needs me," i said.

"indeed she does. neither one of you realize what's to come but you _both_ shall find out in due time," james replied.

"you can send me back?" i asked in shock.

"max will be proud to hear that his daughter is making such mature decisions at such an early age," james said as he nodded.

"i have one request to make of you before sending me back to earth," i said.

"and what might that be?"

"could you let my father and mother know that i love them?"

"i think that would be reasonable. now i want to let you know now a side effect of this mishap. i am not only giving you the ability to live again but to never die again at your choice. you can choose to take it for yourself or you could give this ability to whomever you wish. another thing you should know is that every time you sacrifice your own life for the benefit of others, especially the ones that you love, you will be granted a single wish. i only hope that you will choose wisely. begone."

next thing i knew i was coughing and spluttering in faith's arms.

i sat up quickly and threw my arms around her.

*i will it that she is given the immortality.*

*are you sire this is what you want?* i heard james' voice ring in my head.

*i am.*

*and so it shall be.*

just then i watched a a bright light flashed around us.

"what the hell was that?" faith asked, still not fully knowing i wasn't dead anymore.

"oh nothing," i replied slyly.

she jumped as she stared at me.

"are you a spirit?" she asked.

"no."

she waved her hand and slapped me.

"oh my god! i'm so sorry!"

she grabbed me in a hug and didn't let go for a long time. i hugged her and we stayed that way for a good fifteen minutes before i moved to stand up. i helped faith to her feet. and we continued to the next chamber.

this one had light. i looked around but couldn't figure out what the next challenge was until i took three steps forward and realized there wasn't gonna be a fourth. i was on the edge of a cliff that hung over a giant pit of boiling lava. i thought for a minute.

"what if i used my light beam to make a path?" faith suggested.

i looked at her with raised eyebrows as i watched her move to the tip of the cliff.

"rainbow beam," she said as she held her hand, palm out, over the pit of lava.

a stream of colorful light flew out of her hand and solidified, creating a pathway across the steaming molten rock. we crossed quickly and just as we made it to the other side the pathway cracked behind me. i shoved faith over to the edge of the cliff where it was safe as the pathway cracked and crumbled beneath me. i jumped to the ledge and faith grabbed me.

she pulled me to safety and sighed. we continued on through the next door. the door on the far side of the room had one line engraved into it:

'ye have passed the physical tests. now i want to know: what is it that you seek from this point on?'

just then we heard a loud crack.

"sirius jade hawethenks! what am i ever going to do with you?" a voice said from behind us.

i spun around and almost fell on my face from shock.

"you died once and had to have james revive you. then you expect to get ahold of the family treasure before going through me first? what kind of person raised you?" the woman continued to complain.

"um sirius? who is that woman who's talking to you like she's known you for years?" faith asked as she eyed the woman from across the room.

"that, my love, would be my mother," i replied as i sat up.

"your... oh dear... i apologize.... i'm..." faith started to say but my mother interupted her.

"i know exactly who you are. you're name is faith gwyneth devian. you're the girl who fell in love with my daughter," my mother said.

faith raised her eyebrows and stood back. i got to my feet then and sai,

"mother. i seek the knowledge of our family through these tests. i have learned many things. we are from a very brave family and we don't put ourselves first. we give for the ones we love. we put them ahead of ourselves. is that enough to prove that i won't use this family gift in a wrongful way?" i said.

my mother nodded before she disappeared. the door opened and faith and i stepped through it.. in the middle of the room there was a platform with a large case in the middle of it. we walked over to the platform and i read the words that had been engraved in the side of thecase before i looked inside:

'ye have sacrificed much to be here if not just precious time. you have past the many tests and 'tis now time for you to claim what is rightfully yours.'

when i finished reading the sentence i stepped up to the case and opened the cover. the family treasure was a long sword the was inlaid with ten amethyst and a birthstone for each birth-born hawethenks. i stared down at it with out picking it up.

"what is it sirius?" faith asked out of concern more than curiosity as she watched my face.

"it's the hawethenks sword. it was created by william hawethenks. james' father," i said as i continued to stare down at the sword.


End file.
